Dismal jobs numbers show that the stimulus bill was not a viable solution, Scarborough writes. |
AP Photo
Close

But as bad as Republicans have been on budget matters during the past decade, Democrats can always be counted upon to be worse. Even during the Clinton years, which liberals now highlight to prove that their side is superior on taming the deficit, every GOP budget proposal was met with a Democratic plan that spent more. And as bad as Bush 43 was on the debt, he always submitted budgets that spent less than the Democratic alternative.

These days, it’s more of the same. Domestic spending has gone up 24 percent on Obama’s watch. Spending is now equal to nearly 25 percent of gross domestic product, after hovering around 20 percent during the Bush years. Because of the growth in spending and a decrease in tax revenues caused by the recession, publicly held debt as a percentage of GDP has nearly doubled in the past four years, from 36 percent to 68 percent.

Text Size

-

+

reset

This statistic is especially frightening. Due to high spending and low revenues, publicly held debt may soon equal 90 percent of America’s GDP. If we enter a double-dip recession, some economists believe we could hit that number in as little as 12 months. Once debt is equal to 90 percent of GDP, bondholders will begin demanding higher interest rates that will put even more pressure on an already fragile economy. At some point, we’ll start borrowing just to pay back money that we’ve already borrowed, triggering an economic death spiral that will make Greece’s crisis look like a Mediterranean cruise.

Of course, Obama didn’t create the Bush tax cuts. He just extended them for two years. He did not start the wars in Afghanistan. He just tripled the number of troops in an endless war. And the president isn’t the first to demagogue Medicare. He’s just the one who is planning to exploit those fears to win reelection next year.

But regardless of whether he is reelected, Obama now owns the $1 trillion tax cut extension, three wars and a growing debt crisis.

Who knows? Maybe Obama can reverse the damage that he and Bush have done to America’s economy over the past decade. Maybe the president will get serious about saving Social Security and Medicare. Maybe the commander in chief will have the courage to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and finally bring our troops home. Maybe. But if so, the candidate of “hope” and “change” had better get moving soon. Time is running out.

A guest columnist for POLITICO, Joe Scarborough hosts “Morning Joe” on MSNBC and represented Florida’s 1st Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001.

Obama inherited a sweet deal. The economy had hit rock bottom when he got elected, and all he had to do was get out of the way, let it recover as it always does, and take full credit for it. The left-wing partisan press would naturally have backed him up, giving hiim credit for all good things that happened whether he had anything to do with it or not.

Instead he jumped in with all his marxist ideas and made a bad situation far, far worse. He CANNOT turn this economy around because he does not know how. Everything he thinks about how the economy works is WRONG.

This inexperienced, incompetent failure and all of the politicians who blindly supported him, passing legislation without reading it and without even knowing what was in it, need to be removed from office. Only then can the recovery begin.

There is at least some acknowledgement from the least intellectual tv host on any network that the problems stemmed from his uber conservative colleagues. Scarborough runs his mouth every morning yet those of us from Canada for example who were hit by Americas lost decade. A limited in terms of intellect republican like Scarborough didnt win an election in 2000. He did not win. He proceeded with misguided right wing orthodoxy by giving huge unpaid for tax cuts to the rich,deregulating and then ignoring Afghanistan plunged the US into a war in Iraq after sending his minions out to lie repeatedly. So a man who did not win an election created havoc in the world and anti intellectual small brain conservatives like Scarborough make money criticizing relentlessly a man so superior in every way and much like another anti intellectual republican Palin rewrite history. Right leaning media outlets like Politico allow and even promote this historical revisionist approach to global financial issues. Every time I think about the US I think of the movie Deliverance and I am better able to understand why we are so far ahead of the US in education,health care,banking etc.

Friday's unemployment numbers weren't disastrous. Disastrous was LOSING 700,000 jobs per month opposed to GAINING only 54,000 in ONE month. Republicans, pundits and the media tend to view President Obama's policies as the glass is half-empty. There's no denying that President Obama did inherit the country's economic problems from President Bush. However, the root cause began with President Reagan, 30 years ago. Republicans do not have the same argument nor can they say President Obama has made it worse. Anybody who has had at least a grade school mathematics class knows the current economy could have not been created in the past three years. It's not just the money factor, there were political entitlements that our lawmakers had been enjoying for far too long. The Bush/Cheney administration seemed to have been the last group to reap those rewards, leaving behind the Boehners, Cantors and Ryans of the party to fend for themselves. As Speaker Boehner expressed so emotionally to his fellow Republicans on the House floor, he explained the urgency and importance of passing TARP. They voted and now refuse to not only take any responsibility for it, but has obstruct every single bill, policy, anything the president has tried to do in order to move the country forward. The House Republicans and Senators don't obstruct on fiscal matters, they have blocked or tried to block every one of President Obama's nominees for key positions. The latest being a nominee from MIT. Republican senators decided his qualifications didn't meet their criteria. Either the nominee spoke over their heads or they never heard of MIT. President Obama has set forth legislation to move the country forward, by compromising with Republicans in order to do so. And Republicans have yet set forth any kind of legislation and after promising jobs, jobs, jobs once they won the 2010 election, they pivoted to try and repeal a 35, 40 year old abortion bill. They claim more tax cuts for the "job creators" is the only way to move forward, yet history has proven time after time, they do not and no matter what they are told or what they know to be true, they will never accept the fact that it is THEIR numbers that don't add up. Senator McConnell and DeMint are holding true to do what they said they were going to do. They announced to America that the only thing on their agenda was to see that President Obama be a one-term president instead doing the job they were elected to do. It is not our responsibility to see to it that Republicans keep their job. It's their responsibility to see that Americans keep theirs.

Joe the PMS RINO (at best) actually comes close to being critical of the muslim socialist in chief. Joe needs to change to independent so he can hide under that cover like alot of liberals who comment on politico.

Unfortunately, we can't hurry our economic recovery. In this impatient I want-it-now age, the sluggish recovery is unbelievably slow. But the recovery is happening, despite successful Republican efforts to prioritize spending cuts and thereby make our unemployment lines that much longer. No economist (of any political stripe) believes slashing spending will lead to anything short-term but more unemployment. President Obama's leadership saved US from another Republican Great Depression. Despite Republican opposition, his leadership resulted in new financial regulatory laws that will substantially safeguard US against the necessity of a new fleet of bailouts for reckless businesses. President Obama has led US into 15 successive months of private sector job growth; Republican policies couldn't muster seven successive months in eight years of Bush/Cheney. The Republican policies advanced today are old and failed policies -- the same ones that got US into this mess. The last thing we need is more corporate welfare, new tax cuts made permanent for millionaires and billionaires, widespread deregulation and lax government oversight (or "self-regulation," as George W. liked to call it). If Republicans would join Democrats and our president in coughing up much needed infrastructure monies, we could put hundreds of thousands of unemployed Americans back to work at making our country better. Will it happen? Unlikely, since politics-first Republicans feel they can't afford lower unemployment numbers before 2013.

President Obama's leadership saved US from another Republican Great Depression. Despite Republican opposition, his leadership resulted in new financial regulatory laws that will substantially safeguard US against the necessity of a new fleet of bailouts for reckless businesses. President Obama has led US into 15 successive months of private sector job growth; Republican policies couldn't muster seven successive months in eight years of Bush/Cheney. The Republican policies advanced today are old and failed policies

I THINK THE MUSLIM SOCIALIST SHOULD CONTINUE HIS WORK BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSSFUL!!!!

HEY JOE- YOU CAN'T DRIVE THE JOB AGENDA WHEN YOU ONLY CONTROL THE HOUSE. THE SOCIALIST IN CHIEF (WHO PERSONALY KILLED OBL) BELIEVES YOU DOLE OUT OUR MONEY TO BUY JOBS, HE PAID $250K EACH. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CANNOT MAKE JOBS-OTHER THAN $150K GOVERNMENT ONES. THEY CAN HOWEVER ESTABLISH "CERTAINTY" FOR BUSINESS TO INVEST. CERTAINTY IS NOT HANGING A MONSTROSITY HEALTH CARE LAW AROUND THEIR NECK AND THEN THREATENING THEM DAILY WITH NEW TAXES. HELLO!! IN MY SMALL TOWN THEY ARE GIVING AWAY $30K OF OUR TAX MONEY TO PEOPLE TO BUY A HOUSE- GOD HELP US SOCIALISTS.

When the outstanding liabilities (debt) of the entitlement programs including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are considered, they could add up to $120 trillion to the total, resulting in a debt-to-GDP ratio of 900 percent. This is the issue that government must deal with immediately.

I'm sure the Obozo Hussein Obozo Clown College of Economics and High Finance wishes to express it's gratitude to greasy "Screech" Weiner for providing some top cover to the flunky administrations policies. There ain't no Harvard professor anymore to magically change Obozo's C paper into an A+ anymore. It's a tough world without affirmative action eh?

And its doesn't help that he and his party are anti-business..... no wonder businesses are sitting on $2trillionn in cash...

If Americans hire Mitt Romney in November 2012, and God willing they will, they watch that 42 trillion hit the US economy and the resulting economic boon and activity will drive America out of Obama's ditch......

This comment section reminds me of why I rarely read politico any more.

The op-ed is well written and thoughtful, it is timely, responsible, honest and realistic view of the state of the economy. It does sugar coat the rights irresponsibility a bit (not surprising from the right wing main stream media) however, the readers views show a startling lack of understanding of even the most simple truths of economics or political reality. This is a serious failure, I believe, on the part of Politico's editorial staff to promote honest discussion on tough issues. I feel that as long as Politico readers think that the President of the United States is "job killing, muslim socialist usurper" there will continue to be real concern about the credibility of the right wing leaning main stream media. Thanks to the efforts of writers like Mr. Scarborough to keep it honest I keep checking up on this sight, unfortunately I am more often disappointed then not.

Wait Joe, Obama said he wakes up every morning thinking about what he can do next about jobs. Of course he means after his round of golf and political fundraisers and denigrating those who oppose his policies as racists. Where does he find the time to think about jobs?

I feel that as long as Politico readers think that the President of the United States is "job killing, muslim socialist usurper" there will continue to be real concern about the credibility of the right wing leaning main stream media.

Who knows? Maybe Obama can reverse the damage that he and Bush have done to America’s economy over the past decade. Maybe the president will get serious about saving Social Security and Medicare

Maybe Obama will get serious about saving SS and MediCare?? Seriously, Joey???

What has he done other than demagogue the issue from the start??? And why have you not brought any criticism?? Is it because you get your talking points straight from the WH to your BlackBerry to be actually read on your show in real time?

Is it because you just want to keep your $7 million year salary for acting as the left's useful idiot?

Does the WH order you to criticize any Republican plan to actually do something??? Is that why you continually call Ryan's proposals radical??

I saw this morning where you and those two complete idiots Rendell and Heilman criticize Gingrich for taking a vacation on his own dime. But not a peep that Obama has spent more than three months out of his first two years doing personal travel at taxpayer expense.

BTW...did I hear that clown Heilman correctly?? Did he actually say that Gingrich was "found guilty" of having a half million dollar line of revolving credit at Tiffany??

...oh one more thing about that moron Heilman. He was actually trying to ridicule Palin on her absolutely correct comments regarding Revere and insinuate she was stupid??? ...and then a few minutes later displayed his own ignorance and cluelessness with that concert story and the space station tie-in with Mark Kelly even though he landed over a week ago.